Kiss an Angel(24)

His dark frown told her the situation wasn’t working out as he’d planned, and she had enough difficulties with her own father to feel another pang for Heather. No wonder she was sneaking cigarettes and getting crushes on older men. While Brady Pepper was undeniably attractive, he didn’t strike her as the most patient of fathers.

“I’ve met Heather. She seems quite sensitive.”

“Too sensitive. This is a hard life, and she’s too soft for it.” Abruptly, he got up. “I’d better get out of here before the crowd starts leaving. Nice meeting you, Daisy.”

“You, too.”

As he reached the door, he once again gave her the assessing look of a man who enjoys women. “Alex is a lucky guy.”

She smiled politely and wished Alex felt that way.

Only after the second show was well under way could she close the ticket window and watch Alex’s act. She hoped that seeing it again would dilute the impact of last night, but his skill seemed even more impressive. Where had he learned how to do such things?

It wasn’t until the show had ended that she remembered the mess she had left behind in the trailer. She hurried back and had just opened the door when Jill came up to her with a conspiratorial smile on her face. Frankie was once again perched on her shoulders, and at the sight of Daisy, he immediately began to shriek and cover his eyes.

“Hush, you stinker. Come on, Daisy, I have something to show you.”

Daisy hastily closed the trailer door before her new acquaintance could see the mess inside and discover what a terrible housekeeper she was. Jill took her arm and began leading her along the line of trailers. Off to her left, she could see Jack Daily, the ringmaster, talking with Alex as the workmen began stacking the bleachers.

“Ouch!” Daisy gave a shriek as something yanked hard on a lock of her hair.

Frankie cackled.

“Naughty boy,” Jill cooed, as Daisy leaped out of paw reach. “Ignore him. Once he discovers he can’t get to you, he’ll leave you alone.”

Daisy decided not to voice her doubts about the probability of that happening.

They rounded the end trailer, and she gasped with surprise when she saw the performers, still in costume, surrounding a card table holding a rectangular sheet cake with a bride and groom in the center. Madeline, the showgirl she’d met earlier, stood nearest the cake, along with Brady Pepper and his sons, the youngest Lipscomb boy, several of the clowns, and many others she’d met earlier. Only Heather remained off to the side.

Smiling widely, Jack Daily drew Alex forward while Madeline lifted her hands like a choir director. “All right everybody. Congratulations to you! Congratulations to you!”

As the group sang, Daisy’s eyes grew misty. These people barely knew her, but they were extending the hand of friendship. After the coldness of the wedding ceremony, the intimacy of this moment touched her. In this gathering of Alex’s friends, she felt as if she were attending a real celebration, an acknowledgment that something intensely personal had happened, something that wasn’t a punishment meted out by her father but a cause for happiness.

“Thank you,” she whispered when the singing came to an end. She fought back tears. “Thank you all so much.”

She turned to Alex, and her happiness evaporated as she saw his face, rigid with displeasure.

The crowd gradually grew silent. They took in his reaction and knew something was wrong. Please don’t do this, she thought. I want these people to be my friends. Please pretend to be happy.

A few of the women looked at each other out of the corners of their eyes. The assumption that Alex was a happy bridegroom rapidly faded, and she watched several sets of eyes drop to her waistline to see if she was pregnant.

She forced herself to speak. “I don’t know when I’ve had a nicer surprise. Do you, Alex?”

There was a long silence before he gave a terse shake of his head.

She lifted her chin and fixed a smile on her face. “The cake looks delicious. I’ll bet everyone would like a piece.” She gazed directly into Alex’s eyes, beseeching him. “Let’s cut it together.”

The silence seemed to drag on forever. “My hands are dirty. You go ahead.”

Cheeks burning with embarrassment, she stepped behind the card table, picked up the knife, and began cutting the cake into squares. As the silence grew more pronounced, she tried to pretend nothing was wrong. “I can’t believe you put all this together so quickly. How on earth did you manage it?”

Madeline shuffled uncomfortably. “It—uh—wasn’t hard.”

“Well, I’m impressed.” Cheeks aching with the effort of smiling, Daisy extracted the first piece, set it on a paper plate, and handed it to Alex.

He took it from her without a word.

The silence grew more deafening. Finally, Jill broke in, her eyes darting nervously between the bride and groom. “I’m sorry it’s chocolate. We did this on short notice, and the bakery was out of white cake.”

Daisy regarded her with gratitude for trying to ease the awkwardness. “Chocolate’s my favorite.”

Alex set his paper plate down on the table so abruptly the untouched piece of cake flipped off and landed icing side down. “Excuse me. I have to get back to work. Thank you all.”

Daisy’s hand trembled on the plate she was passing to Madeline. Someone snickered. Daisy lifted her head and saw that it was Heather.